Hardanger

English

Noun

Hardanger (plural Hardangers)

1. Short for Hardanger fiddle.

Norwegian Bokmål

Proper noun

Hardanger

1. The district surrounding the Hardangerfjord in Hordaland county, Western Norway, consisting of seven municipalities, Kvam, Jondal, Granvin, Ulvik, Eidfjord, Ullensvang and Odda.

Derived terms

• harding

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• Hardang
• Harong, Hårångur (dialectal)

Etymology

From Old Norse Harðangr, traditionally believed to be related to hǫrðar (“Harudes”); from Proto-Norse *Harudangraʀ, from Proto-Germanic *harudōz m pl (“Harudes”) + *angraz (“fjord”). The reason for the -a-, as opposed to the -ǫ- in hǫrðar, is said to come from a different placement of the stress, causing an earlier syncope of the -u- than in the other word. It therefore did not yield a u-umlaut.

It has also been suggested that the fjord name may derive from *hardaz (“hard”) instead of *harudōz, due to the location of the fjord being outside the original area of the Harudes (Hordaland). This may better explain the -a- than relying on the absence of an expected u-umlaut.

Proper noun

Hardanger m

1. A district of Hordaland, Norway, consisting of the municipalities Kvam, Ulvik, Eidfjord and Ullensvang.

Derived terms

• Hardangerfjorden
• Hardangervidda

Related terms

• harding, hardeng
• Hordaland
• hordar